The present invention pertains to outdoor feeders used to hold forage, e.g. hay, for feeding livestock such as horses.
Livestock, such as horses, that are allowed to roam in large pastures must be provided with additional forage when the pasture has stopped growing or the pasture has been eaten down to the point where the horses can not obtain forage. In those instances the livestock owner must provide forage usually in the form of bales of hay that are taken to the field and left for consumption by the livestock. It is well known that if the hay bales are broken into, as they must be to feed the animals, the hay becomes exposed to moisture, either rain or snow, then the hay will rot and will not be usable as feed.
Various solutions have been proposed in the form of covered devices to protect the hay from the elements. While the simplest form of protection is to put a canopy over the hay this is usually not adequate since the animals can drag the hay about and once it is moved from under the canopy it becomes exposed to the elements and will deteriorate or rot.
Therefore, there is a need for a covered livestock feeder that will protect the hay from the elements while containing the hay so that it can not be strewn about by the livestock.
The present invention is a covered livestock feeder comprising in combination; a base portion having the general shape of a square prism with top and bottom portions of the square prism being open and the sides of the square prism adapted to contain a quantity of livestock forage, the base portion adapted to support a removal bottom floor portion for holding said forage; two opposite sides of the base portion adapted to permit livestock to access the forage from outside the base with the remaining opposite ends of the base adapted to prevent access of the livestock to the forage; a cover support structure adapted to receive one of a removable water proof and removable water repellant cover fixed to the base with opposite end portion extending over and beyond the opposite end portions of the base where livestock can access the forage, whereby when the cover is applied to the cover support structure the base is covered and the cover extends beyond the opposite end portion of the base permitting livestock to access the forage while protecting the forage from adverse weather conditions.